Previously Frozen?

[Jaxon]

Our local Kroger has spares on sale at $1.69 lb with the caveat being "previously frozen".

I can cook them until the weekend...

Question is:  Can I buy 'em and keep 'em in the fridge till Saturday?   Can I re-freeze 'em for a while?

[GusRobin]

First check the sell by date. If it is Sat or later you are fine.
If Sat is past but close - you should be fine.
As far as previously frozen, if defrosted in a fridge it should be okay to re-freeze. When I buy something from a reputable market that says previously frozen, I personally don't have an issue on re-freezing.

[sliding_billy]

I have unfroze and refroze plenty of meat in my time.  It may not be the best solution, but I can't honestly say that I would have known the difference if it wasn't me doing it.  Just add together the cumulative days that it has been unfrozen compared to sell by.  Let your nose do the testing.  Pork has a pretty obvious smell when it has turned.

[Rummm]

Yup, what the others have said and I'll add that you will lose some moisture in the product when you refreeze and unthaw. Ribs not so much, but on beef roasts, steaks and large pieces of poultry.

[Rummm]

Let me add that I do NOT recommend re-freezing any product that had been thawed above 40° for any length of time. Now we are adding potential bacteria into the mix 

[tnjimbob]

Jaxon, not sure about your Kroger, but my local stores have ribs, pork loins & Boston butts that all say something like "enhanced with up to a 15% solution of blah blah blah", which is usually some type of salt water solution. Rummm may want to clarify this, but I think this may help with moisture retention as well as prolonging shelf life.

I have had ribs & pork loins from Kroger that have this label on them sit in the fridge for a 3-4 days with no ill effects.

My problem with them adding this solution is that I feel like I am losing 15% of the product in exchange for that amount of salt water. Feels like a bit of a ripoff, imho. This is why I usually stick to buying fresh pork and processing it for the freezer as soon as I get home or cooking within 24 hrs. If fresh pork is in cryovac packaging, I have never had a problem letting it sit for a couple of days in the fridge @ >40°, as long as it won't be past the sell-by date when I cook it.

[Rummm]

Jaxon, not sure about your Kroger, but my local stores have ribs, pork loins & Boston butts that all say something like "enhanced with up to a 15% solution of blah blah blah", which is usually some type of salt water solution. Rummm may want to clarify this, but I think this may help with moisture retention as well as prolonging shelf life.

Here is a whole list of WHY meat is enhanced

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/enhancedmeat.html

[Jaxon]

Thanks for the detailed help...

As you know, I am just a backyard Jack tryin' to learn what I can to improve my outdoor cooking experience and keep those folks happy who get their feet under our dinner table.  There aren't many places around here where I can get meat that is not enhanced to some degree.  I don't know if I would even want to pay the price for the premium meats unless I were to have some of my "hi-brow" fiends over.